


Why We Run

by Katniss239



Category: The Bunnyman (Movie), The Bunnyman (Urban Legend), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Au-Smaug Never Came, Comfort, Crying, F/M, Gore, Hidden Video Cameras, Hurt, Mass Death, Overprotective Fíli, Protective Dwarves, Torture, You Have Been Warned, very violent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-15 09:34:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1300111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katniss239/pseuds/Katniss239
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a badly wounded girl is found outside of Erebor, Fili feels an immediate connection to her. When they see what's recorded on the video camera she carries however, this turns out to be much more twisted than they originally anticipated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the Bunnyman is an actual urban legend. Look it up if you don't believe me.

Fili whooped as he and Kili raced on horseback through the trees. They had a bet; the second to reach the clearing did the other's chores for a month. Right now, Fili and his chestnut mare Clover held the lead. Clover was very fast, and Fili had been riding her for years. They were sure to win.

Sure enough, their favorite clearing with the little waterfall came into view.

He pulled Clover to a halt, threw his head back, and howled in triumph.

"Looks like we win again girl." He praised, patting Clover on the neck.

It didn't take much longer before Kili followed on his black colt Crow.

"You cheeted!" He proclaimed.

"How can I cheet in a horserace?" Fili asked. Kili stuttered for a few moments before he clamped his mouth shut, and Fili guffawed. "Sore loser!" Fili yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kili grumbled, rolling his eyes as the two of them dismounted.

"Oh, come on, you big baby." Fili teased, giving Kili a playful shove. It took all of five seconds for their shoving to escalate into a wrestling match. They both paused when Fili asked suddenly. "What's that?" Both brothers looked up, and spotted a pale figure on the edge of the treeline. The two of them untangled themselves and jogged over.

Neither were prepared for what they found.

A girl was collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Her mahogany hair was a tangled mass. Her body was splattered in blood. Aside from covering her modesty, she was wearing next to nothing. They estimated that Fili was about a head taller. Immediately, the blond prince knelt beside her and searched along her neck for a pulse, and felt an immense wave of relief when he felt the small beat drumming against his fingers. "Come on." He said as he took her up in his arms. "Let's get her to the mountain." As the brothers went back to their ponies, Fili wrapped the wounded girl in his cloak so she had at least _something_ to cover herself with. As he swung back up onto Clover, holding her in the saddle in front of him, Fili noticed Kili holding a large dark object in his hand. "What's that?" Fili asked.

"I don't know." Kili answered truthfully. "I saw it on the ground after you picked her up. I have a feeling we should hang on to it." There wasn't time for the two of them to argue. Kili got back up onto Crow, and the two brothers rode with all haste towards home.

 

 

***

 

 

Fili paced anxiously outside the apothecary chambers as he waited for news.

"Fili." Said Thorin, gripping his nephew's shoulders to stop his pacing. "You're going to run yourself into the ground if you keep this up."

"She was hurt so bad uncle!" Fili gasped. "What if-what if she-she doesn't-"

"Fili!" Thorin barked, making his nephew fall silent. "Oin is the most skilled healer in Erebor. If anyone can save her, he can." It was just then that the doors to the chamber opened, and Oin emerged. Fili slipped out of his uncle's grip and rushed up to the healer. "Well?" He demanded.

Oin gave a disgruntled growl. "The wee lamb got herself pretty beat up. I'm afraid i've done all I can do for her. If she survives the night....then she just might live." _Just might._ Two words. Two words that held two different promises. But Fili was willing to take that chance at this point. After Oin walked away, Fili thrust his way into the chambers. He found her asleep on one of the beds. He walked slowly over and sat on the bed next to her. The healers had washed the blood off, and dressed her in a light gown. That device that Kili had found in the woods sat on the bedside table. Curious, he picked it up and looked it over. It was rectangular in shape, about the side of his hand, and silver and black in color. There was a rectangular line on one side, with a row of buttons beneath. There was also a black strap on the other side that he guessed was for holding the device.

He turned his gaze from the device to the girl.

"What happened to you?" He whispered.

No response came from her.

Sighing, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Sleep now." He whispered. "You're safe with us." Rising to his feet, he walked out of the chambers.

As soon as he stepped into the hall, Thorin took notice of the strange object.

"So that's the thing Kili found in the woods?" He inquired.

Fili nodded.

"What do you suppose it is uncle?" He asked.

"I could not even begin to guess." Thorin responded. "But I have a feeling that this device holds the answers we seek."

 

 

***

 

 

Brooke moaned, then immediately clapped her hand over her mouth.

What if he had come back?

What if he heard her?

Oh dear god, she could not go through his methods again!

And then she came to terms with her surroundings.

She wasn't lying on the cold stone floor of the shed. She wasn't bound hand and foot, stripped to the barest minimum clothing. No. She was laying in a bed. The first bed she'd seen in ages. It almost felt too good to be true. She was dressed in what appeared to be a comfortable nightgown.

 _Dear God, if i'm dreaming, please don't wake me up._ She thought.

She jumped when she felt a light touch on her shoulder.

"Easy, lass, easy." Came the calm, gentle reply. "There's nothing for you to fear here." She took a moment to observe. This was an old woman, her long wiry hair gray with age. She had some of the largest sideburns Brooke had ever seen, and her hair was done in a braiding style far too complicated to describe. Her kind face reminded Brooke alot of her grandmother. "Where am I?" She asked. Her throat was still sore from all the screaming she had done.

"You are in the mountain kingdom of Erebor." The stranger said. "These are the apothecary chambers. It's a good thing the princes got you here when they did. We were very close to losing you." Brooke frowned in confusion. She didn't understand half of what the old woman was talking about, but she had gathered enough that she owed someone here her life. "What is your name, my dear?" The woman asked.

"Brooke. Brooke Casterwill." Brooke replied, putting out a hand for the woman to shake.

"My name is Inga." The stranger replied. "Is there anything you need right now?"

"No. Not at the moment." Brooke responded.

"Alright." Inga told her. "If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call me."

 

 

***

 

 

It seemed like ages before Inga came into the chamber.

"Well?" Thorin asked. "Did you learn anything?"

"Yes, my king." Inga replied. "She was awake. I learned her name; Brooke."

"What else?" Thorin asked.

"She seemed rather confused when I spoke of Erebor." Inga told him. "Perhaps she is unfamiliar with the name. Perhaps she's never been here before."

"Did she say anything else?" Fili asked. "Did she say anything about what happened to her?"

"No." Inga responded. "I didn't want to push things too far with her."

"That's alright Inga. Thank you." Dis told her friend.

"I will say this though." Inga continued. "What ever happened to Brooke, it will haunt her to the end of her days. That much was clear."

Without another word, the old Dwarrowdam turned and left.

 

 

***

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was after about a week of bedrest that Brooke was declared well enough to leave the apothecary chambers. Fili, Kili, Dis and Frerin had visited her often, and she had become fast friends with all four. It was as Thorin's nephews came in that Inga was helping Brooke into a beautiful gold gown trimmed in a cream-colored lace. Both women looked up as the boys entered. "Hello boys." Inga greeted them, not turning her gaze away as she tied up the last few laces.

Brooke mumbled a quiet greeting.

The princes smiled warmly as they stepped forward.

"You look...amazing." Fili commented.

Brooke ducked her head down in an attempt to hide her blush.

"Perhaps you'd like to take a walk with us?" Fili asked.

Brooke paused for a moment before nodding. The brothers came in on either side of her, and held her hands in theirs as they walked out of the chambers and down the halls.

The brothers kept a cool head, talking about this and that as they showed her around.

"So, Miss Brooke," Kili said slowly, "if I may ask...what happened to you?"

At the iron look Brooke gave him, Kili was quick to take a hint and snapped his mouth shut like an iron trap. As they walked passed, they were warmly greeted by the people of Erebor. They had been wandering for about two hours when a screech of horror echoed through the hallway.

They followed the rush of people in towards the source of the sound.

When they reached the end of the hallway, they found a wall of guards pressing the line of dwarves back.

Brooke slipped away from the princes and scooted her way to the front of the crowd.

The entire dead end of the hallway was sprayed with blood.

The dead dwarf lay with his head against the wall. He wasn't even recognizable anymore, just a mutilated carcass of red, bloody flesh. But that wasn't what drew her eyes the most. Nailed into the wall above the dwarf's head was a skinned, half-eaten rabbit carcass, and above that was an upside-down five-pointed star enclosed in a circle, painted in the victim's blood. At the grizzly sight, Brooke's face turned ghostly white.

Turning around, she forced her way back through the crowd and ran.

She wasn't safe here.

He was here.

If he found her, there was nowhere she could run from him.

 

 

***

 

 

The entire royal family was waiting anxiously for Thorin's return.

Thorin had promised the deceased's family justice, and had scoured the entire mountain himself trying to find the killer. Everyone stood when Thorin entered. He was sweaty and breathing heavily, as if he had just run hard and fast. "Well?" Frerin asked.

"Nothing." Thorin snarled. In his frustration, he threw a vase against the wall, shattering it to pieces. "Not a single sign, _anywhere!_ It's like he just vanished!"

"People don't 'just vanish', Thorin." Dis said. "There has to be an explanation."

"I have a way we might find answers." Kili said. Everyone turned to look at him as he held up the small silver device. "I've been tinkering with this for hours now, and I think i've figured out how it works. This device records events. The sights, the sounds, everything. I think we may find our answers here."

Everyone stepped closer as Kili opened up the panel on the side of the device.

He pressed one of the buttons, and everyone watched as the footage rolled.

It started with a close image of Brooke. "Good morning." She said in a drowsy voice. "It is super early. The others should be here soon, and when the get here, we'll hit the road." As she finished speaking, there was the sound of a horn blaring, and she commented. "Oh, speak of the devil." The image turned away from Brooke to focus on what looked like to the dwarves to be a large, red metal carraige, rolling into the yard.

The passangers, two girls and three boys, leaped out as soon as it stopped.

Brooke hugged and greeted them like old friends.

"Now, let me introduce you to none other than the dynamic quartet themselves." Brooke said. She focused the image on the blond girl as she said. "This here is my best girlfriend Tracey."

"Hiya." The blond said, smiling warmly.

The image turned to a red-haired boy next as Brooke said. "This here's Justin."

"Yo." The redhead said.

"That's Cody." Said Brooke as the camera focused on a blond boy.

"S'up." Said the blond.

"This is Maryallen." Brooke said, showing everyone a small brunette girl.

"Hello." She said in a soft voice.

"And this is none other than my special boyfriend Victor." Brooke finished.

"And proud of it, baby." Replied the raven-haired boy.

This earned him a round of laughter from the other boys. As the dwarves watched, the camera was passed to Tracey, and they watched Victor lift Brooke up off her feet and kiss her. The girls cheered and the boys whistled. Fili didn't quite understand why it made him angry to see her kissing another man, but it did. "Alright Romeo," said Cody, giving his friend a playful swat, "come on, time to hit the road!"

Everyone cheered as they all leaped into the car.

"Oh, Brooke." Exclaimed Tracey, handing Brooke back the camera.

The car's engine roared into life, and they took off down the road.

For hours, they all sang together.

But as time past, they gradually fell silent.

Victor was driving, Brooke was in the passenger's seat, while the rest were piled into the back seats. The rest were all asleep. It was several hours of driving later that they came in behind a truck. "Aw, come on." Victor whined at the slow pace. When the truck didn't go any faster, he groaned.

"Well, just go around him." Brooke suggested.

Victor sighed, then flashed his turn signals as he went around the truck and zoomed on down the road. After that, there was a little while of peace. At the sound of a deep, blaring horn, the camera turned around, and they saw that same truck approaching behind them. As they watched, the truck went to their left, and pulled up in front of them. "What the...?" exclaimed Victor.

Again, Victor swerved around the truck.

Again, they drove in silence for a while.

Suddenly, the whole car gave a violent lurch, jolting everyone in the back awake. "OW!!" Shouted Cody, rubbing the back of his head. Everyone looked back to find that same truck on their tail once again, only this time, it was dangerously close. "Shit." Exclaimed Victor, and made to speed up.

"No, no, no." exclaimed Maryallen. "You keep going faster, he'll just run us off the road."

"Maryallen's right." Cody said.

"Yeah..yeah, let's just pull over, see if we can have a truce here." Brooke added. Victor looked as though he wanted to say something, but he was outnumbered three to one, so he relented and steered the car off the road, and onto a dirt patch that was large enough for both their car and the truck. As soon as they stopped, everyone started arguing over what to do next. "Look, someone needs to get out and apologize." Brooke said loudly.

"Apologize?" exclaimed Victor. "For what?"

"I don't know!" Shouted Brooke. "Clearly we pissed him off!"

"Okay, maybe one of you girls should go out there." Justin suggested.

As the girls started shouting at him, he yelled above the noise. "Look, it must be a dude driving, so it one of you girls goes out there and apologizes, then maybe he'll cut us some slack!" The arguing. continued for a few more minutes before Brooke finally said. "Okay! since the rest of you are too chicken, i'll go!"

As she made to get out of the car, Victor took hold of her arm and said. "Brooke wait. I don't think this is a very good idea."

"Hey, i'll be fine." Brooke assured him as she passed him the camera. "I'll walk over, make a truce with this guy, and we'll be on our way in no time. There's nothing to worry about." Brooke leaned forward to kiss Victor on the forhead before she stepped out of the car and walked around to the driver's side door of the truck.

"Dude-" Cody started.

"Sh!" His Victor, pointing the camera at Brooke.

She paused for a moment as the engine roared, then called out. "Hello? Sir?"

No response.

"Dude, you need to go get you're girl." Said Cody, again silenced by Victor.

"Hello?" Brooke called out again. "Look, we're sorry we pissed you off...we never intended to get into a fight with you....so...if you could leave us be, and we'll leave you be..and we can all just let bygons be bygons, okay? Hello?" Again, no response, then engine roared once again. Brooke took a hesitant step forward, and took hold of the door handle. The second she took hold of the door handle, the door flew open with a force that sent her crashing backwards.

"Shit!" exclaimed Victor.

He swung open the door and rushed to Brooke's side.

"You alright? You okay?" He asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah, i'm fine." Brooke replied as she took the camera back.

They both stared up at the idling truck.

The windows were tinted dark, so they couldn't see who the driver was, but there was the definet form of a man inside.     


End file.
